Jethro Tull – Heavy Horses: New Shoes Edition, 5-disc set (9 February 2018)

Yep.

 

Anybody care to hazard a guess at what the print runs are for these book sets? Whatever it is, they clearly aren't printing enough of them, judging from the prices on the secondary market.

I'm really suprised they haven't announced a second run for at least a few of the titles (especially TaaB, which was a faulty pressing, and SftW, which seemed to go out of print almost immediately) - if for no other reason than it seems crazy that they would choose to leave money on the table....

 

He sets a high bar?

My two favorites are his mixes of Gentle Giant, Three Piece Suite and the self titled album, Roxy Music. For me that doesn't take anything away from TAAB.

Considering how different the productions are on all the albums he mixes, it is great he can achieve any consistently. I am happy he is tackling This Was, even though I know it won't be his best.

 

It sure seems like every J Tull thread - even ones for discussion of one specific album - always derail into the rabbit hole of the Thick as a Brick set and the flawed dvd and what the flaw is/was and if the correction is still available and will they do another issue etc.

 

The

I wouldn't hazard a guess at the quantity pressed, but some of these sat around for years, others you say, like SFTW disappeared quickly. This just a reflection of the popularity of the particular album, suggesting they were at least available in the same numbers on each release.

They were only intended as one run only. If you start to go back on that, many would just sit back and not purchase them as there would never be any need too, or certainly no rush, leading to sluggish sales and less frenzied discussion on these Tull forums.

With regard to TAAB, there was a second press to rectify the original botched initial box. I think the thing which erks people the most about TAAB is we, or I at least, didn't think it was the start of an amazing anniversary campaign of limited releases in the book format and there's obvious gaps in their collection to be filled.

 

Fair enough. As I said, it just seems odd that they would choose not to press more in order to satisfy an obvious demand. Maybe when the 50th rolls round for the later titles they can repress them all with blu-rays

Oh, hang on a sec. The 50th of This Was is this year........

 

I'm just curious. What box sets are still available for reasonable price? Benefit, TOTRTYTD, Heavy Horses and?

 

I understand the economic theory around this. We live in an "in demand" society now, with little thought beyond tomorrow. For example, there's a grocery store by my home that carries no stock. Whatever is on the shelf is what they have. At the end of the day the computer figures out what's sold, and it is replaced the next morning by a delivery. Economically this seems to make sense, since real estate is expensive, and they can save space on site.

On the other hand, they're constantly running out of stuff. In the summer there was a run on water, so all bottled water sold out. Various bits and pieces go missing. It's incredibly annoying to shoip there sometimes.

My point being - I understand the economic model, but the tail is wagging the dog. The only people benefiting right now are flippers, and ironically, bootleggers. I have my copy of all the book sets, but even I can see that they've left money on the table. I don't buy these sets when they come out because they're going to be rare - I buy them because I'm a Tull fan, and I want the music.

Oh well, what can you do. As I've said before, I sincerely hope thatr at some point they see fit to reissue the music - especially the surround sound mixes. As someone else has said, put the whole thing out on a Blu-Ray disc. The work is doine, and Steve Wilson's efforts deserve to be heard.

 

I think eventually they may reissue some of these in a format with the same discs but maybe simplified and cheaper packaging just featuring Ian's notes on the songs.In other words something that looks a bit like Benefit.
It seems silly to leave money on the table.

 

If you calculate cost of the box, disks, books, packaaging, distribution, etc - $35 probably remarkably affordable
May be it is Ian Anderson fan talking in me, but I believe that at the moment Ian cares more about his legacy then money. But money as well ))).

 

Presale This Was!

 

I think your absolutely right, I mentioned something similar a few years back, also think this is his way of giving something back to the fans who have paid numerous times over for the original released material.

 

For anyone interested in Thick as a Brick box set, I have one spare copy of the uncorrected version. Unsealed but unplayed and in perfect condition. I know many of you would probably want to fill thge gap in the collection. Please contact me here [email protected]

 

Some of the deluxe editions used to be available on HDTracks, but aren't anymore. A high-res download would obviously be missing the book and the surround mix, but not everyone has a surround system (I don't) and some people don't care about books and photos - they want the music. For them, a high-res download would be ideal. But those editions aren't available for download anymore. It seems perplexing to me that downloads would go out of "print," as it's not a question of sitting on physical inventory. It takes up server space, but only one copy's worth.

 

What deluxe editions do you mean? I didn't notice any disappearances of Tull stuff from HDTracks.

 

A guess on my part - there are licensing issues between Tull and Steve Wilson. By "issue", I merely mean that they have agreement about when, where, and amount these near mixes/surround can be used. So they signed a deal to make the current sets, and it's written into a contract somewhere that X number would be made and sold, and no more. For downloads - that they would be on sale for a specific period of time.

As I say, a wild guess on my part.....

 

Agreed, but I'm wondering about the Wilson Crimson boxes then. I think only the first album (In the Court of the Crimson King) is out of print. I'm guessing the others haven't sold out because of their extravagant price. Guess I should pick up the remaining boxes to fill out my library.

 

With all due respect to devoted Crimson fans Jethro Tull is far more popular (at least historically) band.
Plus those boxes already outrageously priced - how much higher can they really go?

 

Outrageously priced? Hmmm. I think you'd better look at how many discs are included in most of those Crimson boxes vs how many you get in the Tull sets.

 

Background info: I've been a fan since the older brother of one of my friends recommended Tull during an extended stay in the UK in 1968. I picked up This Was on the day of its release here and saw them in various venues during their first US tour in early 1969. I've built a massive Tull collection over the years including almost every foreign pressing known to exist. Developed a number of personal and professional relationships with people connected with the Tull organization including several band members, so I've acquired a lot of information and privately held materials over the last 50 years.

My favorite anniversary release changes with my mood. Currently it is Benefit. I think SW knocked it out of the park with that one as it received the added clarity needed, but didn't eliminate the darker mood of the original mix. As I mentioned before, there are several mix decisions I don't care for, and it affects my enjoyment of Thick As A Brick (and Passion Play as well). Overall I'm very happy with the Tull box set releases and hope they continue.

 

Discs cost nothing nowadays. It is content. If you willing to pay for 20 versions of the same song - you are a real fan. How many times you will listen to all this is another story.
Will I pay for similar priced and loaded JT boxes? Absolutely! But it will preclude lots of fans to do the same.

 

Exactly. The Starless box (unless I miscounted) has 30 CDs, 2 DVDs, and 2 Blu-Ray discs. It's currently running about $140 on Amazon. I'm not too sure I'd call that "outrageous". Compare to the Roxy Music box. As for the 40th Anniversary releases, 1 CD and 1 DVD for ~$18 is not outrageous. AFAIK, the 40th Anniversary releases aren't limited edition either.

 

Exactly. The Road to Red box is 24 discs and amazon currently has it for about $150. That's $6.25 per disc - and two of them are blu rays! So much for 'outrageous.'

 

There is not a single correct statement in any of your posts. You are flat out wrong in all respects.

 

Yep. This box have for example 23 versions of "Fracture" and 29 versions of "Lament". How many times have you listened to them all?